Both a cool way (U.S. Senate) and a cold way (frozen D.C.'s empty streets) to spend a Friday afternoon.

Because our Senators have day jobs that don't always leave time to have dinner with me whenever I want it (such a snub, imagine that! LOL), I was unable to arrange a repeat performance of my "Marcs and Johns" dinner of two years ago, but I was able to have a meal with three Democratic Senators separately, and met two that I had never met before on Friday (California's Schiff and Padilla).

As I posted earlier, I had dinner with Georgia's Jon Ossoff on Wednesday. Everyone, including Jon, knows he has a brutally tough fight for re-election on 2 years. His timing was almost miraculous when he was elected in 2021, and it was an alignment of the stars and planets (so to speak) that will be difficult to replicate. I was told by another Democratic Senator that he and Rev. Warnock, the other Democratic Senator from Georgia, are closer than any other two Senators from the same state. I have never met Warnock, but maybe Jon will introduce me on a future visit to the States (I go back to Germany tomorrow). Anyone out there in DU Land from Georgia, please promise you'll get active to the extent you can for Jon's re-election campaign next year. He'll need it!

Arizona's Rubén Gallego invited me to the Democratic Club for lunch on Thursday, and we discussed lots of things, as you can expect. Since this is an open board, I will not be listing specifics that Republican trolls can use against them for future reference. He has made the transition from the House to the Senate, at least by all appearances, with ease, and I look forward to seeing him grill worthless Trump nominees for the next six years. I had been there for his swearing-in celebration in Washington on January 3rd, but it was good to see him again.

Today, Sen. Hickenlooper of Colorado, since he couldn't make a "Marcs and Johns" dinner, either, invited me to have lunch with him at the Senate Refectory, the Senate's private restaurant in the Capitol, if I could spare the time (hmmm, let me think about that and get back to you. OKAY!!). His assistant met me outside the northwest entrance to the Capitol and escorted me through security. Hick was still in some meeting, since I arrived early. But he wasn't late, and we went right into the lunch room. The staff was mostly Hispanic, so I spoke to them in Spanish, and Hick's Spanish was really good as well (which I didn't know). We went over the usual political stuff, and he filled me in on some things that I didn't know, but can't repeat for reasons already mentioned. Suffice it to say that these are ALL good people that we not only want to have representing us in the Senate, but we would want over to the house for a weekend. I mean, really exceptional. Different in their own ways, but not a dull spot among them. No Tubervilles here.

Since Senator Hickenlooper ("Hick" if he tells you to call him that, and in a small setting, he will) had invited me to the Senate's own dining room, I was disappointed not to have recognized any other Democratic stars when I got there. But I didn't have to wait long. The two Senators from California, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, soon came in and sat down at the table next to us. When we were done, Hick took me over and introduced me to Schiff and Padilla. Schiff even asked me for my card (!!!), and Hick's staff told me that I was a known quantity in their office and they talked about me on occasion (how's that for an ego boost?). I do send info on happenings in Europe and my own ideas on stuff on occasion, but they are never solicited, and I have no clue about who sees them or which ones are passed on higher up. The main thing is: now you know, fellow denizens of DU. They DO see them, and if if they strike a chord, they ARE passed on. If you send nut case stuff (no vaccines!) or clichés (tax the rich!), well, sure, they will land in the piles of the other ten thousand weekly messages saying exactly the same thing. But if you have something original or inspiring, the staff does see it and passes it along. Do NOT stop sending our Senators feedback. No, they probably won't send you an email asking for your cell phone number to discuss it further. But they do take note if they find it noteworthy.

As for tonight's vote, they did what they could this evening, but Republican robots do what they are programmed to do, and Hegseth squeaked in. I am convinced that the only reason that McTurtle voted the way he did is because he knew perfectly well that he was not going to be running for another term, and there would be no Moscow Mitch to primary next time around.

When lunch was done, I left the Capitol to call an Uber back to my brother's house in Virginia. The streets were empty and blocked off. What was going on? I couldn't get a car to come near me, and it wasn't because I had rabies. I walked half a mile in the freezing cold (somewhere between 10° and 20° F) and I asked a cop, who was also freezing, what was going on. He said there was a big "right to life" march going on, and much of downtown DC was blocked off for them. I said something about "right to life" apparently meant DC cops freezing to death, and he gave a rueful smile. So, I walked and walked, and somewhere near Union Station, I found a street that was open to traffic and was able to get a ride back to Langley. After a few miles, I even managed to feel my hands again!

So, next week, my routine starts again: home to Düsseldorf, then off to Brussels, Paris, Berlin, etc. One of Hickenlooper's staff at the Capitol said my job sounded exciting. I said, here you are, right where history is being made every day. You are interacting with the men and women who make it, and you think my job sounds exciting? I guess any job can become routine if you do it long enough, but wow, perspectives DO differ!